Sick Day
by stormchaser34neo
Summary: When everyone's favorite academy instructor is ill, it's up to the famous copynin to save the day. But will he succeed? Read to find out.
1. Sick Day part 1

When Iruka awoke that morning, he instinctively knew something was wrong. Even wrapped in a blanket, the heater going, and curled up next to Kakashi, he was shivering. His throat ached, his head pounded, and every few minutes a hacking cough wracked through his chest and brought tears to his eyes. Yes, the worst had happened: the academy teacher was truly sick.

Rolling over, Iruka shook Kakashi awake. The jounin woke up immediately, turning to face the chuunin.

"Something wrong?" Kakashi asked, giving Iruka a concerned look. The tan shinobi was flushed and shivering, not looking amazingly healthy.

"Sick, Kakashi." The academy teacher croaked, leaning against the copy-ninja.

Kakashi stroked his hair comfortingly, feeling the feverish heat radiating off his skin. His Iruka, sick?! Iruka was never sick! His chuunin was unstoppable, immune to petty things like diseases. This was unbelievable, unthinkable! Something had to be done. Thankfully, Kakashi had been on the receiving ends of many illnesses, and knew exactly what had to be done.

"Go back to sleep, Iru-kun. You need the rest. I'll bring you something for the fever." He headed for the kitchen, and came back with a glass of water and two small white pills. "Take them, and get some sleep."

Iruka swallowed them with difficulty, then looked at the clock. He tried to sit up, but Kakashi _thumped _him back down.

"Where are you going?"

"Teach…..academy."

"No way, Iruka. You rest. Don't worry, I'll teach your class."

"NO!" Iruka scream-croaked, then whimpered as his throat protested violently.

"Calm down, Iruka. I've taught classes before. Just give me your lesson plan and I'll be fine."

Iruka's stare silently told him that it wasn't the jounin he was worried about. Nevertheless, he reluctantly handed over the black folder that held his schedule and notes. Kakashi took it with a hidden grin. This was going to be fun.


	2. Sick day Part 2

Hatake Kakashi stared in growing horror as the seemingly endless group of students trickled in. So many giggling, screaming children, all throwing papers and fighting with each other, it was like having 12 of each Naruto and Sasuke. The copy-ninja groaned inwardly. How did Iruka do this everyday! He opened the lesson plan and quickly scanned the schedule. Notes on chakra and chakra flow, it said. Along with it was a few pages of handwritten notes, carefully scaled in Iruka's flowing script. That wouldn't be so bad, Kakashi decided, and picked up some chalk.  
It seemed that Kakashi had made his first mistake. Never, under any circumstances, should you turn your back on ninja in training. Almost immediately he was showered in paper shurikans, plastic kunai, and a repertoire of other mock weaponry. He turned slowly, letting his glare meet the students in turn. There was a sudden hush, and the not-yet ninjas quickly found there seats. This was not their Iruka-sensei , who took everything with a smile and a gentle warning. This Kakashi-sensei, whom they'd all heard terrible stories about.  
"Now then," Kakashi said slowly, giving them his one-eyed smile, "I will put up these notes. You will sit there quietly and take these notes. Anyone who does otherwise will have a conversation with me out in the hallway. Understood?"  
There was a smattering of yes and some nods, which Kakashi took as a good sign. Even better, he was able to turn around and spell out the notes in relative silence. It took longer than he'd thought, and he'd spent the time reading through the lesson plan. More notes, some reading, and free time at the end of class. Deciding that he didn't dare hope to get anymore quiet note-taking out the rambunctious class, Kakashi stood up. They had all finished their notes and were waiting for the jounin to speak.  
"Iruka-sensei left a schedule saying that you were to take more notes and then read from your handbooks." There was a collective moan, which Kakashi waited out. "However, he failed to leave to notes with me, so we will be substituting them with target practice. If anyone finds that disagreeable, please raise your hand." No one stirred. "Line up and get ready to go outside."  
Cheering, the students disregarded his instructions and fled to the academy's practice field. There were shurikans and targets there from the last class, and the not-yet ninjas hurried to make lines. They knew what to do, and had already begun. Kakashi smiled. This wasn't so bad.

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Iruka had spent several hours less pleasantly engaged. Between fevered sleep and coughing fits, he had worried over the children in his class. They were a rowdy bunch, and he hoped they wouldn't prove more than Kakashi could handle. Even the famous copy-ninja had his limits, after all. And note-taking could be a nightmare if you couldn't turn your back on the class. Hopefully, Kakashi would remember that this was the future of their village, and he couldn't kill, maim, or emotionally scar them at this age.  
When he'd felt up to it, Iruka made his way into the kitchen. He found the noodle-less ramen in the refrigerator, that Kakashi had thoughtfully strained so it would be easier on his throat. The chuunin smiled. Maybe Kakashi had enough heart-felt emotional control not to do away with his class. Maybe.


	3. Sick Day Part 3

Might Gai was supervising his team's training when his eternal rival, Hatake Kakashi, appeared next to him. Kakashi looked half-panicked, and was bleeding from several cuts on his person. To say that the green spandexed jounin was surprised was an understatement. His eternal rival did not often look so….ragged.  
"Greetings, my eternal rival," Gai shouted, beaming and flashing his frighteningly flashy teeth. Behind him, Lee was about to copy the movement when Neji and Ten-Ten tackled him.  
"Yo." Kakashi said, then took a deep breath. It was against everything he had ever done to ask Gai for help, but he desperately needed it. "Gai, do you think that you and your team could help me in something? Iruka is sick, and I'm substituting his class for the day. But I have no talent with students, and I thought that you, who are so well acquainted with youth, would be able to help give them the learning experience that every not-yet ninja needs." Never let it be said that Kakashi did not know how to get exactly what he needed out of people.  
Gai leaped up, tears pouring from his eyes as he struck a heroic pose. "You have come to the right person, my eternal rival! We will be more than happy to help the youth in your care! Lee, Ten-Ten, Neji! To the academy!" The two jounin disappeared in a puff of smoke, leaving the genin to walk quickly to the training yards. What now?  
They found the not-yet ninjas sitting starry-eyed on the ground, listening to Gai. Kakashi leaned against a tree, perfectly happy to leave the class in Gai's more capable hands. He wished that Iruka had not made him leave his current copy of Icha Icha at home, for no he had nothing to do. He watched as Gai enlisted Lee, Neji, and Ten-Ten to help show the students how to correctly throw shurikans. Neji seemed particularly absorbed with teaching the Hyuuga in the class how to throw three shurikans at a time. He seemed to be using Lee as her moving target.  
The girls seemed fond of Ten-Ten, and they were showing her how well they could stand around and gossip. Lee and Gai had their own small circle of fans, and Kakashi knew Iruka would have their heads if some of his students showed up for class in jumpsuits and bowl cuts. Ah well, such was the price of good behavior. Lee was already teaching them the nice guy pose, and some of them would surely spend several hours scrubbing their teeth to make them shine just so.  
Class ended far too quickly, and many students seemed reluctant to leave. Just as reluctant were their instructors, as Lee raced over to Kakashi. "Will Iruka-sensei still be ill tomorrow?" he asked, probably imagining spending the entire day with his new fans.  
"I don't know."  
"He should rest." Came Gai's voice. The jounin seemed overly worried about Iruka's health at the moment. "The only way for him to stay in the spring of youth is if he recovers fully before returning to the academy." From the looks on Neji and Ten-Ten's faces they whole-heartedly agreed.  
"You're probably right. I'll advise him to take tomorrow off, just to rest and recover." Kakashi couldn't wait to tell Iruka that. He was probably doomed.  
"Eternal Rival, you should personally make sure it is so!" Gai shouted, throwing an arm around the copy-ninja's shoulders. "Do not worry, for tomorrow Team Gai will assure that the class is taken care of!" With that, the four of them raced into the sunset.  
------------------------------- Later  
Iruka all but tackled Kakashi when the jounin came home. The fact that his lover was bleeding did nothing to allay Iruka's fears about the day. Kakashi could see the question in Iruka's face, and hurried to reassure him.  
"It was fine. They took notes, then I took them out to throw shurikans. That was a little harder, so I went and got Gai and his team. Who, by the way, will be substituting your class tomorrow as well. They all seemed to think you need rest."

In retrospect, Kakashi decided it could have been worse. Iruka was unarmed, and the fever meant he couldn't hit very hard. Besides, eventually Iruka slumped against Kakashi, and the jounin carried him back to bed. Time to obey Gai's orders and make sure Iruka rested. He had the chuunin's best interest in mind, after all. If he didn't, he would never had let Gai substitute the class. That was a sacrifice.


End file.
